Detectives are treating Sydney's first gang-related murder in six months as an "isolated" but targeted shooting, as they seek to uncover why a father was killed in front of his young son.
Taha Sabbagh was shot up to 10 times while seated in a car next to his 12-year-old son outside the Elite Fight Force gym at Sefton, in the city's south west.
He frequented the gym, and only hours earlier posted a video to his Instagram showing a boy training at the boxing and martial arts facility on Carlingford Street.
The 40-year-old was about to get out of his car at about 6:30am on Thursday when a Mazda 3 pulled up and a volley of bullets was fired at him.
Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, head of the NSW homicide squad, yesterday said police did not believe the attack was random but the motive remained unclear.
Mr Sabbagh was not known as a heavy hitter in Sydney's underworld, and loved ones have taken to social media declaring his death was a case of "mistaken identity".
Superintendent Doherty said the victim was associated with people who are "well-known" to police, some of whom have "connections" to the gym located in an industrial area of Sefton.
"Whether he was the intended target or not, we'll still keep an open mind — it hasn't been established," he said.
"But the hallmarks of the circumstances lean towards a targeted, organised crime murder."
Mr Sabbagh's death was the first that police have linked to organised crime in Sydney since August 2022, a six-month lull after years of tit-for-tat public shootings.
Superintendent Doherty said this incident may not be related to the ongoing gangland feuds that had "plagued" the city, including the Hamzy-Alameddine conflict.
At least 15 people died in underworld-related shootings in the two-year period to August.
A series of high-profile arrests over the past year made police confident they had gained the upper hand on the criminal element using the streets as a battleground.
"We're treating this as an isolated incident. However, we'll still keep an open mind about that," Superintendent Doherty said.
"The last shooting we've had that has an organised crime link was over six months ago.
"The number of shootings and murders have come down quite dramatically.
"The police have worked really hard in that area, with the assistance of the community."
He said officers were looking for at least two people believed to have carried out the "callous" shooting.
Witnesses reported seeing one man jump out of the Mazda and shoot at Mr Sabbagh, before both men fled in the car.
A Mazda thought to have been the one used was later found burnt out at nearby Magdella Street in Birrong.
Police are asking for anyone with information about the incident, or dash cam footage taken in the area on Thursday morning, to come forward.
